It has be known to design shells and the like sensitive to impact against soft or hard targets, respectively. A sensitive sensor member which is necessary for the impact against soft targets is placed in the nose of the shell and triggering is effected by means of the sensor member being activated via a pyrotechnical delay which activates the member effecting the triggering. On impact against a hard target, the front parts of the shell are damaged and the triggering member can be actuated without delay.
There is a need in this art for a relatively simple but nevertheless well operating, intelligent impact fuze which in real time senses the hardness of the target and determines whether the warhead will detonate outside the target or if the ammunition unit holds for penetration into the target. In the latter case, the ammunition unit can detonate inside the soft target and in this way the effect is increased in this type of target.
For example, anti-aircraft missiles must be effective against both small and large targets as well as hard and soft targets and against partly hard and partly soft targets. This requires significantly different operating characteristics. With an intelligent impact fuze, the penetration burst for soft targets can be combined with a shaped-charge effect against hard targets, and it should be possible to combine this with a bullet effect against small targets if required. It will be possible to utilize the invention, for example, in small anti-aircraft missiles with a wide target spectrum, for example battalion anti-aircraft missiles.
It will be possible to utilize different types of sensors and, if so desired, it will be possible to combine the impact functions with a proximity fuze function.